Stories

Development News The building at 645 Marhsall Avenue will be renovated inside and out over the next four months.

Edge Motor Museum rolling into 645 Marshall Avenue later this year

A new automobile museum highlighting the Edge District’s rich automotive history is on the way to 645 Marshall Avenue. The building, which was constructed in 1925, once featured a car showroom and assembly shop.


Feature Story A young South Memphis resident plays with a giant Jenga set. (Shelda Edwards)

Vacant lot comes alive with South Memphis Move Your Body event and plans for future park

On June 16, the first South Memphis Move Your Body free exercise event was all about possibilities possibilities for fitness and fun, possibilities for new and deeper community relationships, and the possibility to transform a vacant lot into a center of health and community.

Feature Story Binghampton Students cross at a crosswalk. Sidewalks and crosswalks are part of the physical infrastructure that can be improved with TIF funding. (Submitted)

Residents to help allocate $26 million in Binghampton investment

A $26 million investment in Binghampton over the next 30 years will help facilitate major growth, and residents are making sure those investments keep the neighborhood affordable so they see that success.

Development News 27 W. Carolina Street

Mixed-use housing development seeks to attract a grocery store to Downtown

Developer Hamilton & Holliman LLC is finalizing designs for its first ground-up, mixed-use project downtown, with plans for another larger project if the multifamily market stays strong over the next couple of years.


Innovation & Job News Chris Horne, project manager at Sasaki, the consultant firm that is leading MSRRP development, discussed the proposals made by his team.

The Mid-South gets sustainable with a plan to ease the damage of weather disasters

A plan for weathering recurring issues like flooding and wind damage, recommended by Sasaki, the consultant firm that is leading MSRRP development, includes a wide range of projects that spans from regional, neighborhood and site/building specific solutions.


Feature Story A 1938 photo of the Lions Open Air School. (Special Collections Department, University of Memphis Libraries)

In segregated Memphis, radio DJs drove Black children with disabilities to this Uptown school

Before the Keel Avenue School opened, Black children with physical handicaps were unable to attend classes. With a little help from DJs at WDIA, their education was possible.

Feature Story Neighbors enjoyed Memphis-based Geist at the first Uptown porch concert series. (Cole Bradley)

Front porch concerts rock the Uptown neighborhood

It’s summer in the South and Uptown knows it’s the best time to gather around on a shady porch listening to great music and building connections to grow the community.

Feature Story A KTG employee prepares a parent roll for the next stage of manufacturing. (Brandon Dahlberg)

In photos: The Uptown "tissue factory" shows a lesser-known side of consumer products

Catch a glimpse inside the quiet industry churning in a northern pocket of Uptown. 

Feature Story UCI

Video: Memphis children learn during the summer with Literacy Mid-South

Memphis children may face a deficit in reading comprehension if they are unengaged during the summer months. Literacy Mid-South volunteers help Memphis children steer clear of the summer slump.

Development News Lamar Avenue corridor

Lamar Avenue repair and expansion on the way

The Lamar Avenue corridor, one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares, will finally get a much-needed overhaul thanks to a $71.2 million U.S. Department of Transportation Infrastructure For Rebuilding America grant to be used for roadway repairs and capacity upgrades.


Development News Wolf River Conservancy TWF award

Wolf River Conservancy's greenway efforts garner state recognition

Based on its work on the Wolf River Greenway Trail and protection of lands related to the aquifer and our clean water supply, Memphis-based Wolf River Conservancy took home the award for Conservation Organization of the Year at the recent Tennessee Wildlife Federation (TWF) 53rd Annual Conservation Achievement Awards in Nashville.


Development News Curry N Jerk Restaurant on Monroe

Two-floor Curry N Jerk restaurant to open Downtown

New restaurateur Arturo Azcarate is all set to welcome his first guests late this week to his Curry N Jerk restaurant at 126 Monroe Avenue. The venture is in honor of Azcarate’s mother, Sharon Rose Bynoe, who passed away eight years ago.


Innovation & Job News Stephanie Cummings, Please Assist Me CEO and co-founder, center, along with two Please Assist Me assistants, help users with tasks they might be too busy for like cleaning the house or doing laundry, as part of a newly launched startup accelerator.

Newly launched startup accelerator expands innovation economy in Memphis

ServiceMaster continues its investment back into Memphis that started with bringing its headquarters Downtown, building out an innovation center and now helping launch a startup accelerator.


Feature Story People from all walks of life mingle beneath the "branches" of Treedom Memphis.

Treedom transforms vacant lot and grows community in Uptown-Pinch

Designed in Paris for a Hungarian music festival, a 26 foot-tall ‘livable sculpture’ has found a new home in Uptown-Pinch and is helping turn an empty lot into a vibrant space for a growing community.

Feature Story Dennis Whitehead Darling is the inaugural fellow of the McCleave Project, an initiative of the opera company to bring a focus on diversity and inclusion to the genre.

Opera Memphis awards first McCleave Fellowship to local director

Dennis Whitehead Darling is the inaugural fellow of the McCleave Project, an initiative of the opera company to bring a focus on diversity and inclusion to the genre.


Feature Story Young men play basketball in Booker T. Washington park.

Greening Up: Uptown is investing in green spaces and reaping the reward

Uptown parks and green spaces are beautiful gems well known to its residents, but soon Uptown and the Pinch will be showcasing its green jewels to visitors from across the U.S.


Development News Kenneth Worles solidified the focus of his business while working in Washington for several years.

Three(i) sets sights on 1st Memphis office by July

Upstart communications consulting firm Three(i) Creative Communications founded by Kenneth Worles Jr. is setting its sights on its first brick-and-mortar location by mid-summer. The firm, run by young Millennials of color, is building its reputation by carving out space in specific niches of its industry.


Development News The Blake on S. Main

Historic S. Main building being rehabbed inside and out

The historic former Russell Hardware store at 316 S. Main is getting a huge facelift to bring the 27,000-square foot building back to life after it had been listed as a blighted property last year by the S. Main Association.


Development News Mighty Lights

Mighty Lights expanding along Memphis riverfront this fall

Nonprofit Memphis Bridge Lighting, Inc. is beginning work this week on an expansion of the newly branded Mighty Lights LED lighting installations on the Memphis riverfront. The $14 million privately-funded project on the Harahan Bridge/Big River Crossing and soon-to-be-illuminated Hernando de Soto Bridge is free to the public every night of the year.


Feature Story Homes in the Bearwater development facing 7th Street are rental properties. (Brandon Dahlberg)

Building something out of nothing: New housing opportunities spring from once-vacant lot in Uptown

In 2008, a scrappy nonprofit service provider entered into a new role as a housing developer. Those 11 rental units caught the eye of President Carter and Habitat for Humanity, which finished the job by building 19 homes and completing a from-scratch subdivision.